Original title
エリアの騎士
Released
1/7/2012
Origin country
JP
Genre
Animation, Comedy
Production companies
Shin-Ei Animation
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
1
Number of episodes
37
Kakeru and Suguru are brothers who both have a flaming passion for soccer. However, while Suguru becomes a rising star in the Japanese youth soccer system, Kakeru decides to take on a managerial role after struggling on the field. But due to a cruel twist of fate, Kakeru ends up reevaluating the role he has chosen. In hopes of one day being able to enter the World Cup by becoming a member of the national team, Kakeru trains harder than anyone else. He isn’t alone in this quest for glory, though. Kakeru's childhood friend, Nana, is a soccer prodigy of her own, with the wicked nickname “Little Witch”. She is a top-ranked player and is already playing for Nadeshiko Japan, the Japanese women’s national team. Nana's success gives Kakeru the extra push he needs to reach for his goals.
Kakeru Aizawa is the manager for his middle school soccer team and younger brother to soccer prodigy Suguru Aizawa. His childhood friend, Nana Mishima, returns from America and enrolls into his class. That night, Kakero secretly practices soccer at the park and is challenged to a match by a masked stranger. The next day, Suguru has Kakeru enter a soccer match for the chance to join the regulars as a forward.
Kakeru displays his skills as a forward by predicting and receiving Suguru's skilled passes. Whenever Kakeru has a chance to score, he changes his footing and hits the ball with his right leg reducing the power of the shot and prevents him from scoring. That night, Kakeru meets the masked stranger and explains how he injured a classmate with his left leg during a soccer match which is the cause to his playing style. That morning on the way to school, Suguru attempts to tell Kakeru he is the only forward able to receive his passes. In the middle of the conversation, they are hit by a truck.
In the coma, Kakeru relives the day he, along with Suguru and Nana, promise to join Japan's national soccer team. Meanwhile, Suguru is pronounced brain dead and his family agree to the hospital's decision to transplant his heart into Kakeru to save his life; Nana happens to overhear the decision. After several days, Kakeru is discharged from the hospital and resigns from the soccer team. At the park, a girl is almost hit by a car but is saved when Kakeru kicks a ball and stops the driver.
Kakeru is unable to recall what happened when he kicked the ball, leading Nana to suspect Suguru's heart is the cause. At the hospital, Suguru's sport counselor, Ayaka Mine, examines Kakeru and reminds him to exercise for his heart. She secretly tasks Nana to watch for Suguru-like behavior from Kakeru possibly resulted from the transplant. That night, Kakeru learns that the masked stranger is Nana and that he received a heart transplant from Suguru. As Kakeru reads through Suguru's dairy, he discovers his brother's frustration with the forwards in Japan's national team and how he desires Kakeru to fill that position. The next day, Kakeru tells Nana he will enroll in Enoshima High where Ryuichi Araki, a passer with skills like Suguru, is located.
A year passes and Kakeru and Nana are now students in Enoshima High school. They enroll in a soccer club, discovering that their club is the school's unofficial soccer team dubbed FC. They learn that before nationals tournament, FC competes with the official soccer team, dubbed SC, to determine who represents the school. Kakeru and Nana remain on the team after realizing FC's unconventional training is more effective than SC's. Meanwhile, Kakeru attempts to persuade Ryuichi to rejoin FC, who quit soccer and become overweight after losing to SC. Ryuichi explains the same frustration he felt as Suguru about the lack of skilled forwards to accept his passes but is inspired by Kakeru who offers to accept that position.
The match between FC and SC to decide who will represent the school for nationals begins. Ryuichi fails to show up during the match and the team plays without him. After the first half, SC leads by two points. A player on FC is injured and is forced to stop playing. Kota Nakatsuka, Kakeru's middle school friend, quits the SC team and joins the FC team to sub for the player. The game resumes and Kakeru scores a goal as does SC ending the second half with 1:3 lead by SC. Ryuichi, having lost weight, joins FC and subs in for a player for the final half of the game.
The match between Enoshima and Yoin begins. Yoin quickly begins forcing Enoshima into offside traps. Seeing no choice, Kakeru is put into the game 20 minutes into the First Half. Kakeru uses the Phi Trick to get past Asuka and passes the ball to Araki, who uses a scorpion kick to put Enoshima up 1:0. Yoin quickly rebounds though. Asuka begins marking Kakeru and forces him to turn the ball over. The ball is passed to Haruki Onimaru who dribbles to Enoshima's corner. He fakes Enoshima out with what appears to be a pass to Asuka, but in reality it's a twisting shot. With no chance to stop the shot, Enoshima finds themselves tied 1:1, and now Coach Iwaki must come up with a new dangerous plan if Enoshima is to succedd. All this time Silva, Mai, and Kakeru's old teammates watch the game from the stands along with Kakeru's family and Ayaka.
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